Nineteen Vietnamese suspects in two gangs have been detained for stealing more than 300,000 yuan ($50,000) worth of garments from local shopping malls, Shanghai police said yesterday.
Police said they had caught six members of a gang last June and had seized more than 500 garments as well as large luggage boxes. The suspects are alleged to have illegally entered China in April via Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, close to Vietnam, and then traveled to Shanghai.
They were discovered after a member of the gang, who had previously been caught stealing by Shanghai police, was arrested again on theft charges that month. Police said the suspects were targeting fashion boutiques in Shanghai.
Thirteen suspects of another gang who allegedly stole from downtown malls were arrested late last month.
Police seized more than 200 garments that the suspects allegedly intended to mail to Nanning city in Guangxi, while police in that city later helped to seize stolen garments valued at more than 200,000 yuan.
Shanghai police said more than 4,000 suspects involved in about 10,700 theft and scam cases had been arrested since April, with goods worth 40 million yuan worth recovered.